Early Years Information For 2-5 years

We are extremely proud of our recent inspection reports for Early Years, the Pre-School and Reception group at Boundary Oak School for which both Ofsted and ISI rated us the highest possible grading of ‘Outstanding and ‘Excellent’ for all areas of Early Years. Read the full report here.

Early Years Foundation Stage is taught across the Little Acorns Pre-School and Reception years. This includes children from aged 2 to 5 years old. We provide a broad and balanced curriculum that gives our younger children the opportunity to build a strong foundation for the transition into Pre Prep. We work hard to help develop the children’s confidence and self-esteem, through a rich and stimulating learning environment.

We aim to stimulate and harness our youngest children’s natural curiosity and enthusiasm in order to build from the very beginning an interest and confidence in learning. At this early stage learning is based on wide-ranging experience, much of it through play and exploration, focusing on the following areas:

Communication and Language

Physical Development

Personal Social and Emotional Development

Literacy

Mathematics

Understanding the World

Expressive Arts and Design

The children have specialist teachers for French, PE, and Music each week and have the opportunity of learning outside each day in their purpose built play area which includes an assortment of bikes and trikes to aid physical development. In addition, Little Acorns and Reception have their own secure outside learning area which includes a chicken coop, guinea pigs, growing stations and a mud kitchen.

Reception should be seen as, essentially, a transitional phase during which the foundations are established and a move towards the more structured approach to learning of the National Curriculum begins to take place. By the end of the Reception year most children will have completed the Early Learning goals and as their timetable has become more structured, they will make the transition into Year 1 with no difficulty.